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Cross Examination: Why Pigs Get Fat & Hogs Get Slaughtered
Cross-examination is often considered by many to be an art. When it comes to strategy, sometimes all you need is a little common sense. We all have heard the old saying, “Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered”, but what’s that got to do with cross-examination? Greed can be a vice and a weakness even… →
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For the Record: Offers to Prove… Do They Make a Difference?
You appear for your final pretrial conference and after a short discussion or perhaps with no hearing, the Court grants your opponent’s motion in limine and excludes evidence or testimony essential to your client’s case. Now what do you do? Well, your starting point for an answer to this dilemma is Rule 103 of the Federal… →
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Zingers: The power of the “one-liner” in communicating with jurors
There is nothing more powerful in terms of capturing someone’s attention and imbedding your message in their brain than a good one-liner or as I like to call them, a “zinger”. A “zinger” is described as “a surprising or unusually pointed or telling remark.” In today’s modern fast paced world, speechwriters and politicians often work… →
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Analogies: The power of parables and fables
Want the jury to remember the key points of your closing argument? Having trouble making a point of law clear? The answer is to find a good analogy or anecdote to make your point. Some of the best teachers I had were those who used analogies to drive a point home. Jesus parables such as… →
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Jury selection in ten minutes or less… Can it be done effectively?
The time allowed for jury selection today is typically very brief compared to the time allotted years ago to attorneys. One article that I recently read by Attorney Karen Koehler provided an interesting and effective approach to dealing with limited time for questioning potential jurors. This is what she said to a panel of prospective… →
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The Barrister's Toolbox 